If you prefer the video…
Steve started working at his parents’ health club when he was 18, and he started picking up tips from some of the clients.
He learned the power of networking and providing value and over time, built a network of thousands of people
Steve learned to offer value, without expectation of getting anything in return by watching what older successful business people were doing with him.
Last year was Steve’s best year ever, because people invite him to work with him.
This sounds great, but how do you make money in the near term?
Go out to your network and find 5-10 people you can campaign for. (Steve has 16 partners like this) and get referral or commission payments in return. If you do this properly, it’s a win-win-win.
(Really helpful if your CRM has fields for ideal clients and referral partners, btw.)
How much time do you spend “networking” vs “working”?
From 0-$1M, you’re hunting and gathering. Meet 10-15 new people every week. Some of those people will introduce you to more people. During COVID, he met 500 new people in less than 2 months.
Steve estimates that about 10% of your overall contact list will be part of your “inner circle” that you really stay in touch with.
When you bring value to that inner circle– say it’s 500 people– your universe changes– you don’t know exactly when or who…
When making introductions, don’t try to sell anybody, just connect people. Keep it short and sweet. You don’t need a 2-3 paragraph referral.
You never know who someone can introduce you to– it’s not just about the sole individual you’re meeting, but about the people they know.
How do you gain the “Networking Superpower”?
Shut up and listen. Don’t just shut up– make sure you’re really listening.
Ask questions.
(Bonus tip that was not part of the episde, but Steve says that hosting a podcast is great practice for asking questions and shutting up and listening.)
Serving is a skill (or you can call it a habit). It’s not hard, but you have to practice.
How can you build this habit if it feels terrifying, especially for introverts?
Write down 3 questions:
- what are you challenges?
- how long have you been doing it?
- what are your goals?
(Don’t like those questions, come up with 3 of your own open-ended questions.)
(Of course, put the answers in your CRM.)
If you’re serving, having something that you can ask for help with, too, so you don’t turn people into takers. (Steve Ramona calls this the “Infinity Loop”, because he has trouble saying “Reciprocity”, which is what Bob Burg calls it. Check out Bob’s Sales for Nerds interview here.)
Can you make every day Christmas for people in your network?
“Short term money is when you sell someone. Long term money is when you build a relationship.”
The Wine
Reuben is having some EQ Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. It was a little early in the day for Steve.
Where to find Steve
(You can find my interview on Steve’s Doing Business with a Servant’s Heart here.)
Where to find Reuben
@Sales4Nerds, @Mimiran, Mimiran.com.You can also listen on Overcast, or Subscribe on Android, or Player.fm.
Want a way to make sales and marketing fun, without being “salesy”? Try Mimiran, the CRM for elite solo consultants who love serving clients but who hate “selling”.
Unlike CRMs built for the VP of sales to keep track of a sales team, where contacts are just statistics, Mimiran is built for relationships, networking, and referrals. (See one way Mimiran makes it easier to make introductions along the lines Steve suggests.)
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